R E F L E C T I O N S

Happy New Year! In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past.  -from Wikipedia I believe the sickle symbolizes the death of the old year. 

For a while I could not make a comment on anyone's blog post.  It was very frustrating.  I could not even reply to anyone's comment on my blog. I searched the web but all the suggestions did not help.  Then I took a chance and experimented on my blog settings. Finally I found the cause.  I had Ghostery installed to prevent some advertisers from tracking what I looked at on the web.  It's not just the advertisements, which are a nuisance; my privacy was being attacked. Anyway, by adjusting the settings on Ghostery to "Trust Site", it allowed me to comment again. Thank goodness.

My Daughter and Granddaughter My Son-in-Law and Grandson I'm looking forward to their visit for Christmas.

We decided to use our small artificial tree this year.  It's sort of cute. Two of my favorites: Silver Bells - Burl Ives Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives

My lab results were good.  No cancer! I don't want to sound like a hypochondriac, just want to share my good news. I still have Barrett's Esophagus   and take medication for it, so far so good.  I'll get an endoscopy every two years to check up on it. Here's a link to explain it: Barrett's Esophagus: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments It's great news just before Christmas! 😀

I set the base of the stove on "furniture cups" to protect the carpet. The Finished Project I used a small lamp with a dim bulb to let the stove act as a decorative lamp stand.   The stove is a deep black and I couldn't get the details to show in this photo. The hardest part after moving the heavy sections of the stove was inserting four screws and nuts to prevent it from shaking.  Finding the right sizes and reaching into the stove made it difficult. But now I'm finished. 

I'm scrubbing the stove parts with only warm water.  The black paint I used years ago is still good so that's all it needed.  It will look real, not too shiny but still clean and black. I washed the small parts in the sink. I like the flower and vertical design. Here's something I didn't notice before I started cleaning. "Union Manufacturing Boyertown, PA" Next I'll have to buy furniture cups to protect the carpet from the heavy cast iron stove.  Then put the stove back together in the basement den.

A few quotes about nothing.  I tend to plan to be always doing something.  Feeling guilty about wasting time or missing out has a lot to do with it.   When I do spend time without specific plans I enjoy it. Maybe setting aside more time to just exist would be good. Any thoughts?

I like this video but I'm not following the site because it seems to be mostly a way to sell her books.  There's nothing wrong with that but I don't want to lure you into her web.😉 I could not download the video. The only way was to link to Facebook. If you're not signed into Facebook you may get this screen.    But you can check off "Not Now". It's about 10 minutes long. Here's the link to the video. (47) Tiny Buddha - It's here: Tiny Buddha Productions' first short...

I took the stove apart so I could give it a final cleaning before using it as a decoration for our basement den.  This also makes it easier to move.  Made of solid cast iron it's very heavy! From the embossed letters and numbers: Leader Globe No 212  UMCO From memories of my childhood in Brooklyn, we used it to burn coal.  It probably also burns wood. Whenever we moved I made sure to take the stove with me.  It looks like a work of art. The special black paint I used on it decades ago is still holding up, no rust, only dust! I love the flower decoration on each corner and the trim design along the bottom ridge. Ash Door Slide Ash Door All the parts easily move and fit, just like new!

The furniture was delivered this afternoon.  Tomorrow, our TV will be delivered.  Saturday, Xfinity will hook up the cable.  Then we'll have our basement back after the flood a few years ago.  It took a while but it will finally be finished. We're still waiting for another chair and we need to find a coffee table.

Son in law Ryan holding Evelyn, eight months old. She fell asleep in her father's arms. The day after Thanksgiving we had spaghetti and meatballs. Evey sitting next to her mom Laurissa. Just Starting To Sit Up

It looks much better than a bare basement concrete floor.  The folded carpet is what was left over. Lynette said you can bind the edges to use it as an area rug.  Next the TV and furniture will be delivered but not until after Thanksgiving.  Here some heavy slate pieces are holding down the wooden trim until the glue dries. Today was a busy day; waiting for the carpet, taking the trash to the dump, calling Visa, calling the repair service for our microwave.  Thank goodness it's still under warranty.  I walked around the park and treated myself to an ice cream cone, piece of apple pie and a large ice  tea at McDonald's. The portions of pie and ice cream are small. 

I must have had something like this in school but I have no idea now.  I hope you enjoy the video. I found it on Miss Cellania's blog.